The Never Boys Read Online Free

He filled his plate as fast as he could his stomach.
    Shortly, the stitching of hands across the table slowed. Cool drinks helped wash down the meal as an electric fan blew the conversation round the kitchen.
    â€˜Who was it this time?’ the head shearer asked as Hayden returned to his seat, closing his mobile phone. ‘The girl from the riverboat or the nurse?’
    â€˜Who says it was a girl calling?’ he grinned. ‘It might’ve been Mum asking me to pick up milk on the way home.’
    â€˜The nurse!’ they chimed as one.
    â€˜Switch that thing off,’ the General said. ‘Every time it’s on, there’s some bimbo ringing you up.’
    â€˜He’s programmed all their numbers into it too,’ explained the Aboriginal rousie named Adam. ‘It’s a White Pages of hot chicks.’
    â€˜Hand that over!’ another rousie said, stealing the mobile away.
    That brought more laughter. Hayden snatched his phone back as one of the homestead’s landlines rang. Dean rubbed his ear as the General answered it in the lounge room.
    â€˜Was that the girl from the riverboat?’
    â€˜No,’ the General answered, bypassing the table for the sink. ‘It was Graeme Benson. The cops asked him to do a ring-around.’
    â€˜The cops?’
    â€˜Why? What’s happened?’
    She looked out the kitchen window. ‘That fire on his property yesterday — it was more than just arson. It was a distraction to get him out of his house. Thieves ransacked the place while he was putting out the blaze.’
    â€˜You’re kidding.’
    â€˜Nope.’
    â€˜The Coates were hit last night too.’
    The men grew rowdy with curses and threats. One of their own had been ripped off. They all felt betrayed.
    Grabbing the last of the mustard bread, Dean kept on eating.
    The talk ebbed when the first person rose to clean the table. It split the men into groups. A few sat and talked. Others washed up. One left for the shearers’quarters to have a nap while the smokers stepped out for cancer sticks.
    â€˜Enjoying all the action?’ Hayden asked later, charming his way out of cleaning duty to flop on the lounge beside him. ‘It’s rare to see this much excitement round here.’
    The younger boy kept reading the paper, checking to see if he was in it.
    â€˜So what’s your story?’ Hayden pushed.
    Disappointed, he put it down. ‘What do you want to know?’
    â€˜Have you sued your barber yet?’ Adam joked.
    A tea towel smacked into the back of his head. ‘Be polite,’ the General warned.
    â€˜What brings you to Truro for a start?’ Hayden asked.
    â€˜I’m backpacking.’
    â€˜By yourself?’
    He nodded.
    â€˜Where have you been to so far?’
    A shrug. ‘All over the place.’
    â€˜North? South? East? W —’
    â€˜Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Alice —’
    â€˜Sounds like you’re working your way round the country.’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜Where to next?’
    â€˜Maybe Melbourne.’
    â€˜I thought you were heading to Sydney,’ the General said.
    â€˜Melbourne or Sydney. Either will do. I would’ve made it if my wallet hadn’t been stolen.’
    â€˜Your wallet? How much was in it?’
    â€˜All my savings.’
    â€˜First the Bensons, now you, hey?’
    They didn’t speak much more. Hayden’s phone rang and the General snatched it away.
    Any hope of a slack afternoon was lost when the head shearer’s shouting muted even the clippers. Thankfully this time Dean wasn’t the culprit. Short of four o’clock, the Aboriginal rousie named Adam elbowed his mate and tapped his watch. They grinned then rushed to the main door, colliding into each other. Curling round the frame, they spied the driveway until whoever they were waiting for arrived. It must have been a girl. They were preening their hair and pushing each